Since I didn't teach all day today, I felt a lot better. It was nice to have the break and put things in perspective. Linda asked if I wanted to teach a little of the math lesson before I left for my workshop, and I said no. It felt so good saying that word.
My workshop this afternoon was great. It was with all the other student teachers in the area. It's always so nice to get together with them. We can commiserate, laugh, and share ideas together. It's reassuring to know that you're not the only person out there.
We're off to the football game in Chelsea (Stein's hometown) tonight. They're in the regionals. Go Bulldogs!
Also, Stein made another good dinner last night (in addition to bringing me a pint of Ben and Jerry's for the bad day I had). We decided that the spice of the chorizo is perfect with the somewhat blandness of the pork chops. Oh mama, it's good, and satisfies the chorizo addiction I've had lately. Here's the recipe if you want to try it:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36232,00.html
Have a great weekend!
Friday, November 9, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This
Ah, yes. The solo weeks started this week. This was supposed the "easy" week, wasn't it? The week when I had only three days of teaching? Yeah, not so much.
Monday went fine. Linda really didn't stay out of the room completely, but managed to stay out enough for the kids to know that I was the one in charge. She admits she has a hard time losing control, which I've heard is not unusual for teachers. I get it.
Tuesday the kids were off, but we had meetings in the morning and parent/teacher conferences in the afternoon. Yesterday went okay. I even managed to get through the math lesson, although the kids were looking at me like I had five heads and acted up to show this. My girls with attitude were in rare form too. Just another day in 4th grade.
Then the lights went out.
Well, they didn't actually go out, thanks to the generator. They went brown. So, just before lunch, I had to call my advisor to tell her the news. You see, I was supposed to be observed yesterday. And the lesson I was to teach? Most of it was on powerpoint. How was I going to pull that off? Have the class of kids gather around my laptop and hope that the battery doesn't die? No thanks. In all of my classes I have been taught to have a back-up plan in case things with technology don't work out. My back-up plan? Reschedule. Besides, the kids were off the hook. It was like they never had the electricity go out.
We got through the afternoon, after revamping some of the schedule. Linda took over a little more since I never encountered a "crisis" yet.
Then today came. I couldn't sleep this morning, so I got up early and got to school by 7:00 am. I was going to be prepared today. I was going to get everything I needed to be done for the day and then have time to get things together before my observation. The kids had art for an hour this morning, so I had even more time. I got everything set up, I was ready. The kids were a little crazed this morning, but it was understandable since Linda wasn't there. Oh yeah, I forgot that part. Linda took the day off.
I told the kids that my advisor was coming in to observe me and also observe them. I thought that may have been the key to getting them in order. Apparently not.
When I said they were off the hook yesterday, I don't know what I was thinking. Today they were downright crazy. I pulled out all the stops. I tried everything. I was polite. I was firm. I asked kids to "help me out". Nothing worked. Nothing. I finally told my advisor that I was going to be splitting this lesson into two parts and the first part was ending. NOW. I wrapped up the session and had the sub take the kids out to recess.
Then I got all the feedback from my advisor. She had mostly good things to say, knowing the circumstances involved. About five minutes into our meeting, the floodgates opened. I lost it. She always says that she carries kleenex with herself for such times. I always told myself that I "would never need them". Today I needed them. She was really nice and listened to me while I vented. A lot of things have been frustrating me lately, and I just had it. It all came out in tears. I pulled myself together, just in time to have the sub come back and tell me 2 of the kids got in a fight and were in the office. Just in time for the rest of the kids to come back from computers and be off the walls yet once again.
Tomorrow I have my workshop, so I won't be teaching anything. I'm grateful for the break. The only thing I keep thinking is, how am I going to last for 5 days next week and then the 2 days before Thanksgiving?
Mama also said this too shall pass. That's what I'm counting on.
Monday went fine. Linda really didn't stay out of the room completely, but managed to stay out enough for the kids to know that I was the one in charge. She admits she has a hard time losing control, which I've heard is not unusual for teachers. I get it.
Tuesday the kids were off, but we had meetings in the morning and parent/teacher conferences in the afternoon. Yesterday went okay. I even managed to get through the math lesson, although the kids were looking at me like I had five heads and acted up to show this. My girls with attitude were in rare form too. Just another day in 4th grade.
Then the lights went out.
Well, they didn't actually go out, thanks to the generator. They went brown. So, just before lunch, I had to call my advisor to tell her the news. You see, I was supposed to be observed yesterday. And the lesson I was to teach? Most of it was on powerpoint. How was I going to pull that off? Have the class of kids gather around my laptop and hope that the battery doesn't die? No thanks. In all of my classes I have been taught to have a back-up plan in case things with technology don't work out. My back-up plan? Reschedule. Besides, the kids were off the hook. It was like they never had the electricity go out.
We got through the afternoon, after revamping some of the schedule. Linda took over a little more since I never encountered a "crisis" yet.
Then today came. I couldn't sleep this morning, so I got up early and got to school by 7:00 am. I was going to be prepared today. I was going to get everything I needed to be done for the day and then have time to get things together before my observation. The kids had art for an hour this morning, so I had even more time. I got everything set up, I was ready. The kids were a little crazed this morning, but it was understandable since Linda wasn't there. Oh yeah, I forgot that part. Linda took the day off.
I told the kids that my advisor was coming in to observe me and also observe them. I thought that may have been the key to getting them in order. Apparently not.
When I said they were off the hook yesterday, I don't know what I was thinking. Today they were downright crazy. I pulled out all the stops. I tried everything. I was polite. I was firm. I asked kids to "help me out". Nothing worked. Nothing. I finally told my advisor that I was going to be splitting this lesson into two parts and the first part was ending. NOW. I wrapped up the session and had the sub take the kids out to recess.
Then I got all the feedback from my advisor. She had mostly good things to say, knowing the circumstances involved. About five minutes into our meeting, the floodgates opened. I lost it. She always says that she carries kleenex with herself for such times. I always told myself that I "would never need them". Today I needed them. She was really nice and listened to me while I vented. A lot of things have been frustrating me lately, and I just had it. It all came out in tears. I pulled myself together, just in time to have the sub come back and tell me 2 of the kids got in a fight and were in the office. Just in time for the rest of the kids to come back from computers and be off the walls yet once again.
Tomorrow I have my workshop, so I won't be teaching anything. I'm grateful for the break. The only thing I keep thinking is, how am I going to last for 5 days next week and then the 2 days before Thanksgiving?
Mama also said this too shall pass. That's what I'm counting on.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
What a Nice Boy, That Stein
I really like birthdays. I really get into birthdays. It could be my birthday, it could be friends' or family members' birthdays. It doesn't matter. I just like the celebration, the cake and the cards, and the presents. My sister Mickey and I love presents. I don't care if you wrapped up an old shoe in a box and gave it to me. (Actually, I would care - so don't think about it.)
Stein doesn't really get into birthdays. Or he didn't, until he met me. The first year we were dating, my birthday came first and he did really well with it. I don't know if it was the constant reminders that my birthday was approaching, or what. I still wear the earrings (almost daily) that he gave me. Then, when his birthday came next, I made a big deal about it. He tells me every year that I shouldn't make a big deal about it, but I can't help it. It's fun.
When the subject comes up around other people, Stein jokes that not only do I think my birthday should last for the week prior to and the day of, but that it should be a birthday month. Well, in honor of that theory, he has been giving me gifts every week starting a month ago.
The first week, he handed me a card. When I opened it and saw that it was a birthday card, I thought maybe there was a mistake. When I opened it, he had written, "One more month until your birthday!" Oh, how fun. How thoughtful. The present was equally thoughtful. A travel soap dish. A purple travel soap dish. He told me that my travel soap dish, the one I've had since I started working at Einstein's, was ready to be thrown out because it was broken. So now I have the replacement.
The second week, he handed me another birthday card. And with the birthday card, was another present. It was new earphones for my iPod. Just a week before, I noticed that I was only hearing my music through one ear because the earphone cord was spliced somehow. He knew that I needed new ones.
And this week, oh my. He handed me another card. And in the card, it said he made an appointment for me for a massage the day after I finish my solo weeks. So the day before Thanksgiving, I will be getting a hot stone massage. What a luxury. He knew, yet again, what I needed.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is reason #527 why I married him.
Stein doesn't really get into birthdays. Or he didn't, until he met me. The first year we were dating, my birthday came first and he did really well with it. I don't know if it was the constant reminders that my birthday was approaching, or what. I still wear the earrings (almost daily) that he gave me. Then, when his birthday came next, I made a big deal about it. He tells me every year that I shouldn't make a big deal about it, but I can't help it. It's fun.
When the subject comes up around other people, Stein jokes that not only do I think my birthday should last for the week prior to and the day of, but that it should be a birthday month. Well, in honor of that theory, he has been giving me gifts every week starting a month ago.
The first week, he handed me a card. When I opened it and saw that it was a birthday card, I thought maybe there was a mistake. When I opened it, he had written, "One more month until your birthday!" Oh, how fun. How thoughtful. The present was equally thoughtful. A travel soap dish. A purple travel soap dish. He told me that my travel soap dish, the one I've had since I started working at Einstein's, was ready to be thrown out because it was broken. So now I have the replacement.
The second week, he handed me another birthday card. And with the birthday card, was another present. It was new earphones for my iPod. Just a week before, I noticed that I was only hearing my music through one ear because the earphone cord was spliced somehow. He knew that I needed new ones.
And this week, oh my. He handed me another card. And in the card, it said he made an appointment for me for a massage the day after I finish my solo weeks. So the day before Thanksgiving, I will be getting a hot stone massage. What a luxury. He knew, yet again, what I needed.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is reason #527 why I married him.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Freaky
I just googled myself (procrastinating yet again) and came up with this (look on page 7):
http://www.mgmt2000.com/index_images_masters/2006SeminarSchedule.pdf
It's a brochure for a leadership seminar that I attended in 2006 when I worked for Einstein's. Apparently, they took my comments from the evaluation form and put them on the brochure. Very strange. I obviously had no idea.
http://www.mgmt2000.com/index_images_masters/2006SeminarSchedule.pdf
It's a brochure for a leadership seminar that I attended in 2006 when I worked for Einstein's. Apparently, they took my comments from the evaluation form and put them on the brochure. Very strange. I obviously had no idea.
This Old House
My brother Bryan and his family live in the house where we grew up. So yesterday we went to his house to get together. It's weird, yet comforting to be in that little bungalow on Sunnyside. I spent nearly 20 years of my life there. It's weird, because it's the house I know, yet it's a lot different and I don't live there. Sometimes it feels like I'm in a dream and I'm just floating above it, looking down. Very surreal, to put a label on it.
Although Bryan and Pat have made a lot of changes in the house, the many intricacies of the house remain. It's pretty amazing how these things just come back to you when you're in a place that's so familiar. It's funny how I just know that you have to step down to get from one part of the basement to another, or how I know where the light switch is for the back porch, or that certain doors require a little oomph to get open.
I did notice something yesterday that I never paid attention to. We went for a walk at one point to look at a house that's for sale in the neighborhood. Mickey, Rick, and I talked about houses we've been in and what the neighbors who lived in those houses were like. We shared stories of the insides of houses, and the houses we wanted to see. I listened and talked, yet I kept noticing that something was different in the neighborhood. I couldn't quite put a finger on it. It finally dawned on me. The neighborhood was different. Not only had I grown, but the neighborhood had grown. The trees are much more mature now, trees that were pretty young when we were running around playing. The grown trees, combined with me being grown up, made the neighborhood seem really small yesterday. I had such a different perspective of the place. The place that once was so familiar, now seemed unfamiliar.
When we got back to Bryan's, I shared this thought with my Mom. She felt the same way. "The streets seem so narrow, don't they?" she asked. I agreed. We talked about the mature trees, the narrow streets, and that everything looked different. Again, the surreal feeling came back. It's like the past and the present are combining, but the lines are blurred. It's really hard to distinguish one from the other.
For dinner, Bryan made my Mom's sloppy joes. It was such a nostalgic meal to be eating in that house. After dinner, we sat around the dinner table to have chocolate eclair cake dessert, yet another nostalgic food. Memories flood my brain when I'm in that house. I looked around and remembered holidays celebrated there. Hanging around the adults while they lingered over coffee and dessert after the meal, listening to the stories they told. Sitting at the kids table and laughing with my cousins. Or the bridge parties my parents had at the house. We were forbidden to eat any of the "party food" before the party started, and hoped the guests wouldn't have seconds of the dessert so we could have the leftovers.
That Old House has so much in it. So many memories. So many feelings. So many celebrations. So many experiences. So much learned. So much love. So much family.
Although Bryan and Pat have made a lot of changes in the house, the many intricacies of the house remain. It's pretty amazing how these things just come back to you when you're in a place that's so familiar. It's funny how I just know that you have to step down to get from one part of the basement to another, or how I know where the light switch is for the back porch, or that certain doors require a little oomph to get open.
I did notice something yesterday that I never paid attention to. We went for a walk at one point to look at a house that's for sale in the neighborhood. Mickey, Rick, and I talked about houses we've been in and what the neighbors who lived in those houses were like. We shared stories of the insides of houses, and the houses we wanted to see. I listened and talked, yet I kept noticing that something was different in the neighborhood. I couldn't quite put a finger on it. It finally dawned on me. The neighborhood was different. Not only had I grown, but the neighborhood had grown. The trees are much more mature now, trees that were pretty young when we were running around playing. The grown trees, combined with me being grown up, made the neighborhood seem really small yesterday. I had such a different perspective of the place. The place that once was so familiar, now seemed unfamiliar.
When we got back to Bryan's, I shared this thought with my Mom. She felt the same way. "The streets seem so narrow, don't they?" she asked. I agreed. We talked about the mature trees, the narrow streets, and that everything looked different. Again, the surreal feeling came back. It's like the past and the present are combining, but the lines are blurred. It's really hard to distinguish one from the other.
For dinner, Bryan made my Mom's sloppy joes. It was such a nostalgic meal to be eating in that house. After dinner, we sat around the dinner table to have chocolate eclair cake dessert, yet another nostalgic food. Memories flood my brain when I'm in that house. I looked around and remembered holidays celebrated there. Hanging around the adults while they lingered over coffee and dessert after the meal, listening to the stories they told. Sitting at the kids table and laughing with my cousins. Or the bridge parties my parents had at the house. We were forbidden to eat any of the "party food" before the party started, and hoped the guests wouldn't have seconds of the dessert so we could have the leftovers.
That Old House has so much in it. So many memories. So many feelings. So many celebrations. So many experiences. So much learned. So much love. So much family.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Catching Up
We're heading to Chicago this morning. Stein is sleeping, so I figured this would be a good time to catch up on the blog.
I decided it would be best that I stay home last night and do more work on my project. I was getting the stressed-out feeling that really gets to me, and realized I just needed to plow through the project to get rid of the feeling.
After 3 hours of work, I did get a good chunk of it done and now I feel a lot better. I feel a lot clearer about the project, and know that I have Sunday evening to do more preparations for the week. I was also able to get organized around the house, as the project had taken over the dining room. The dining room table was completely consumed by posters, files, markers, and books. Just cleaning that up helped to clear my mind and made me feel organized.
I start my solo weeks this week. I am looking forward to it with excitement and nervousness. As much as being solo with a sub was nerve wracking, I have to say that it has really helped with my confidence. I know that I can teach for a whole day without Linda in the room. The only difference is that I won't have the sub in the room to be the "heavy" for discipline when I'm trying to teach.
This week we have Tuesday off (the kids are off but we have an in-service meeting) and I also have a workshop on Friday afternoon. This works out just fine for me. I can teach a day, and have a day to regroup and prepare. Then I teach two more days and have the weekend to regroup and prepare. Next week will be a different story. And the following week after that which is the two days before Thanksgiving break? I'm expecting complete chaos. The only consolation? I'll be done with my solo teaching as of Tuesday at 3:42 p.m. that week.
As far as this week, I think it went well. I was solo with Linda in the room. She admits that she has a hard time with this, since she wants to jump in and help/teach/discipline. She did have a hard time, but it was okay. There were learning moments for me, moments that I'm hoping will help me in the coming weeks. Next week she will stay out of the classroom completely.
We went on our field trip to the gravel pit this week. It was a great trip, but completely exhausting! Although we only traveled about a 1/2 hour from the school, the kids definitely reacted to being in the "country". "Horses!" they shouted as we passed a farm with one horse in the field. "We're really far away", said the girl who sat next to me on the bus. These kids are definitely city kids. But the sad thing is, they're city kids who don't get out much. They can't.
Being at the gravel pit was fun. The kids had gallon milk containers to put rocks in, and most of them got on the bus dragging a full container of rocks. "Look at this one, Mrs. Steinhauer!" they would say with excitement. I would give them my most enthusiastic reaction as I looked at the plain brown rock they held in their hand. They weren't rock hunting, they were treasure hunting, and they sure found treasures.
We were outside all day, aside from a trip to the geological museum where the kids created all kinds of chaos. After the museum, we went to the nearby cemetery to see the tombstones and how some stones were more worn than others. They had a seek-and-find kind activity where they learned about some of the symbols and deceased in the cemetery.
The next day we went to the woods that are behind our school. There is a really nice loop trail that weaves through the trees and near a pond. We went with our first-grade buddies. The first grade had the assignment of looking for living and non-living things in the woods. They were able to see ducks, geese, squirrels, a spider egg sac, lots of leaves and a real live salamander! It was a beautiful fall day to be in the woods. Brown, yellow, red, and orange leaves swirled in the air before joining their friends on the ground. I got a mini-science lesson from one of the first graders when he told me that trees hibernate in the winter. We all seem to hibernate in the winter, I thought.
Well, that's all the news that's fit to print at this point. I'll try to write more tomorrow when we get back from Chicago. Have a great weekend!
I decided it would be best that I stay home last night and do more work on my project. I was getting the stressed-out feeling that really gets to me, and realized I just needed to plow through the project to get rid of the feeling.
After 3 hours of work, I did get a good chunk of it done and now I feel a lot better. I feel a lot clearer about the project, and know that I have Sunday evening to do more preparations for the week. I was also able to get organized around the house, as the project had taken over the dining room. The dining room table was completely consumed by posters, files, markers, and books. Just cleaning that up helped to clear my mind and made me feel organized.
I start my solo weeks this week. I am looking forward to it with excitement and nervousness. As much as being solo with a sub was nerve wracking, I have to say that it has really helped with my confidence. I know that I can teach for a whole day without Linda in the room. The only difference is that I won't have the sub in the room to be the "heavy" for discipline when I'm trying to teach.
This week we have Tuesday off (the kids are off but we have an in-service meeting) and I also have a workshop on Friday afternoon. This works out just fine for me. I can teach a day, and have a day to regroup and prepare. Then I teach two more days and have the weekend to regroup and prepare. Next week will be a different story. And the following week after that which is the two days before Thanksgiving break? I'm expecting complete chaos. The only consolation? I'll be done with my solo teaching as of Tuesday at 3:42 p.m. that week.
As far as this week, I think it went well. I was solo with Linda in the room. She admits that she has a hard time with this, since she wants to jump in and help/teach/discipline. She did have a hard time, but it was okay. There were learning moments for me, moments that I'm hoping will help me in the coming weeks. Next week she will stay out of the classroom completely.
We went on our field trip to the gravel pit this week. It was a great trip, but completely exhausting! Although we only traveled about a 1/2 hour from the school, the kids definitely reacted to being in the "country". "Horses!" they shouted as we passed a farm with one horse in the field. "We're really far away", said the girl who sat next to me on the bus. These kids are definitely city kids. But the sad thing is, they're city kids who don't get out much. They can't.
Being at the gravel pit was fun. The kids had gallon milk containers to put rocks in, and most of them got on the bus dragging a full container of rocks. "Look at this one, Mrs. Steinhauer!" they would say with excitement. I would give them my most enthusiastic reaction as I looked at the plain brown rock they held in their hand. They weren't rock hunting, they were treasure hunting, and they sure found treasures.
We were outside all day, aside from a trip to the geological museum where the kids created all kinds of chaos. After the museum, we went to the nearby cemetery to see the tombstones and how some stones were more worn than others. They had a seek-and-find kind activity where they learned about some of the symbols and deceased in the cemetery.
The next day we went to the woods that are behind our school. There is a really nice loop trail that weaves through the trees and near a pond. We went with our first-grade buddies. The first grade had the assignment of looking for living and non-living things in the woods. They were able to see ducks, geese, squirrels, a spider egg sac, lots of leaves and a real live salamander! It was a beautiful fall day to be in the woods. Brown, yellow, red, and orange leaves swirled in the air before joining their friends on the ground. I got a mini-science lesson from one of the first graders when he told me that trees hibernate in the winter. We all seem to hibernate in the winter, I thought.
Well, that's all the news that's fit to print at this point. I'll try to write more tomorrow when we get back from Chicago. Have a great weekend!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Keepin' It Short Part 2
Yep, still working on the project. Add going to the woods today to the list of entries to be written...
In the meantime, Stein made 2 great dinners this week. After he made the chili on Sunday, he used some of it to make this recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_37349,00.html
I thought it was great, Stein didn't really like it. He didn't know if it was a texture thing, or what. Give it a try to decide for yourself.
And then the next night he made this recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_27968,00.html
We both loved the saltiness of the prosciutto combined with the rosemary and chicken. Yum.
We're off to Chicago either tomorrow or Saturday. My Mom and Rich are in town, so we're getting together. I'll try to post after that.
Have a great weekend!
In the meantime, Stein made 2 great dinners this week. After he made the chili on Sunday, he used some of it to make this recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_37349,00.html
I thought it was great, Stein didn't really like it. He didn't know if it was a texture thing, or what. Give it a try to decide for yourself.
And then the next night he made this recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_27968,00.html
We both loved the saltiness of the prosciutto combined with the rosemary and chicken. Yum.
We're off to Chicago either tomorrow or Saturday. My Mom and Rich are in town, so we're getting together. I'll try to post after that.
Have a great weekend!
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